Sirius XM Holdings Inc. hares rose 3% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the company posted stronger-than-expected revenue for the fourth quarter. The radio company said it had net income of $251 million, or 6 cents a share, in the quarter, after a loss of $37 million, or 1 cent a share, in the year-earlier period. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 1 cent. Revenue rose to $1.496 billion from $1.404 billion, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.482 billion. The company, which has signed an agreement to acquire Internet radio provider Pandora Media in all-stock deal, said it expects 2019 revenue of about $6.1 billion, not including Pandora, matching the FactSet consensus. Shares have fallen 3.5% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has fallen 6.5%.

Sirius XM Q4 EPS 6 cents vs. loss 1 cent; FactSet consensus 6 cents

Pandora Media Inc. Chief Executive Roger Lynch and several top Pandora executives will be on their way out after the buyout deal with Sirius XM Holdings Inc. closes, the company said late Tuesday. Sirius Chief Executive Jim Meyer will lead the combined company, and Pandora's general counsel, chief financial officer, and chief human resources officer will leave. Sirius announced its plan to buy Pandora in September, and in a special meeting earlier Tuesday Pandora shareholders approved the deal, which is expected to close "shortly," Pandora said. Sirius shares rose 0.7% in the extended session Tuesday after ending the regular trading day down 0.2%. Pandora shares rose 1.1% after gaining 0.9% at the close.

Shares of Sirius XM Holdings Inc. rose in Tuesday's extended session after the company's board approved a new $2 billion stock repurchase plan and declared a quarterly dividend of 1.21 cents a share. Sirius said the program covers buybacks in open markets and any private transactions with Liberty Media, which owns a major stake in the satellite radio company, as well as its affiliates. Sirius shares rose 0.9% after hours.

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. ticked lower in the extended session Tuesday after the satellite radio company issued forecasts for this year and the next. Sirius shares declined 0.9% after hours, following a 2.1% gain to close at $6.35 a share Tuesday. The company said it "expects to meet or exceed its 2018 guidance" for revenue, free cash flow, and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. In late October, Sirius forecast self-pay net subscriber additions of about 1.28 million for the year, revenue of about $5.73 billion, adjusted EBITDA of about $2.2 billion, and free cash flow of about $1.5 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet estimate self-pay net subscriber additions of 1.32 million, revenue of $5.75 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $2.17 billion, and free cash flow of $1.53 billion. For 2019, Sirius XM said it expects self-pay net additions "approaching 1 million," revenue of about $6.1 billion, adjusted EBITDA of about $2.3 billion, and free cash flow of about $1.6 billion. Analysts expect self-pay net additions of 1.1 million, revenue of $6.07 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $2.35 billion, and free cash flow of $1.69 billion. The company said its guidance does not include the effect of its expected acquisition of Pandora Media Inc. in the first quarter. Sirius is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results on Jan. 30.

Shares of Sirius XM Holdings Inc. slipped 0.2% in premarket trade Wednesday, amid a sharp selloff in the broader market, while J.P. Morgan swung to bullish from bearish on the radio services provider, citing a now attractive valuation ahead of the closing of the Pandora Media Inc. acquisition. The rating was raised to overweight, after being at underweight since January 2018. The stock price target was lifted to $7, which is 23% above Monday's closing price of $5.71, from $6. Following the recent stock selloff, J.P. Morgan said it views Siri's valuation as attractive at current earnings multiples, ahead of initial 2019 guidance expected this month and ahead of the Pandora deal close. Since closing at a 12 1/2-year high of $7.64 on June 18, the stock had tumbled 25% through Monday, while the S&P 500 lost 9.6% over the same time. "We look for SIRI's strong results year-to-date to persist in 4Q18 and 2019 and believe the Pandora acquisition can augment growth in new and existing segments," J.P. Morgan analysts wrote in a note to clients.

Jan. 2, 2019 at 8:04 a.m. ET

by Tomi Kilgore

Sirius XM Radio upgraded to overweight from underweight at J.P. Morgan

Sirius XM Radio upgraded to overweight from underweight at J.P. Morgan

Pandora Media has begun selling commercial time in streams playing just on Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers, opening a path for advertisers to target people as they use voice-activated assistants.

Vivendi’s plans to sell half of Universal, the world’s biggest music company, will allow it to cash in on the music-streaming revolution and give potential investors the chance to participate in the resurgent industry.

Pandora Media has begun selling commercial time in streams playing just on Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers, opening a path for advertisers to target people as they use voice-activated assistants.

Sirius XM Holdings Inc.

Sirius XM Holdings, Inc. is a radio company. The company offers music, sports, entertainment, comedy, talk, news, traffic and weather channels, as well as infotainment services. Its brand channels include SiriusXM Traffic, SiriusXM Travel Link, NavTraffic, NavWeather, SiriusXM Aviation and SiriusXM Marine. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in New York, NY.
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